Vehicle window guide and regulator assembly



Dec. 26, 1944. B, s FLORADAY 2,366,092

VEHICLE WINDOW GUIDE AND REGULATOR ASSEMBLY Filed Nov. 28, 1941 2Sheets-Sheet l 3117:2912 5. Flaxadq,

INVENTOR MLQQMW ATTO R N EY Dec. 26," 1944. s FLQRADAY 2,366,092

VEHICLE WINDOW GUIDE AND REGULATOR ASSEMBLY Filed NOV. 28, 1941 2Sheets-Sheet 2 7 9 Burl 9n finexada INVENTOIR ATTORNEY t dow within thevehicle body and also satisfactory ooerating mechanism. n

Other objects of thesinvention reside in details i PatentedDec. 26, 1944VEHICLE WINDOW GUIDE ANDREGUDATORV assumes Burton-LS. iFloraday, Toledo;Ohio assignor to De- 't'roit Harvester Compa poration ofMichigan ny,Detroit, Mich, a cor- Application Noveniber'28, 1941, Serial No. 420,159

a 1.1 claim.

Thisjinvention relates to "vehicle windows such as automobilewindow-sand is particularly concemed' with theguiding and actuation ofvehicle "windowsto and from closed position. An object is toproduceasimple and-efficient vehicle window 'gui'de assembly for guiding hemovement of the window panel to" and from closed position whichisfdesigned for unitary mounting within the window -well, therebymaterially simplifying the mounting of thejwin ti'all y reducing theassembly costs Anothenobj'ecti's to produo'e a vehicle window guidestructure having the "new and improved featuresof construction,arrangement and operation by which the same may-'be efficiently andsubstaneconomically manufactured on a' production basis; may be readilyand conveniently installed in position of useym'ay be .simply adjustedwith respect to the vehiclefbody and-window structures so 'as readily toalign the parts; decreases the length of the guide channelswithoutlshortening the window travel; and eliminates the whipping actionof the window panel not infrequently caused by slammingof the vehicledoor.

A further object is to produce awindowrgu later and guide stnuctureasseniblybywhichhthe nected to the window panellthrough .parts of theparted to the window panel during actuation of usual swinging arm of tthetregulator is soocon-t guide structure that a tensioning fiorce isimp the window panel toward; its raised or closed' position therebymilitating .againstnbreakage or bending of operating parts andleffectinga-more of construction, arrangement and operation hereinaftermmore fullydescribed and for purposes of illustration but notof limitation embodiments of theinvention are shownin the ac- I companyingdrawings,linwhich t Figure 1 is a side elevation of an automobilevawpartoi the outer panel being broken away to disclose the guide:assembly and a portion of the window regulator mechanism t Figure 2 isan enlarged vertical sectional ele vation on the line 2-2-of Figure 1;.Figure :3 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional viewshowing1a portionwof theinside door panel,"regulatorrmechanismand guideassembly; n i

ed to the carriage C a slight distance below the line 'S-S of Figure oneof the rollers being shown in section and the other in elevation;

Figure 6 is aifragmentary elevation of; :the

track and ecarriage assemblygparits being broken srollers away lto showthe mannerin which the engage the guide channels; l l

Figure'mgis a -bottomplan view of the guide and :carriage assembly:showing particularly 'the means :for adjusting the position of thelower end of theunit relative to the-wvehicle body;

Figure .8 is an enlarged sectional view of. a

portion of the assembly showing @an alternate form in which thetnackslis provided with aresi'lient' rubber lining with which landfallmetal roller I Figure9wis amenlarged sectional viewehowing analternateitorm in which the guide track units areuadapted :to-ioe:adjusted towa-rdland away from each other, therebyto move the trackscloser to or farther :away .from'thevrollers instead of permanently:connecting "the track units together :a-s

indicateduin the other :figures of the drawings.

.The: illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises an automobilebody L0 having a door l 'l l;'providedtwithnthe usual well I2 into-whicha glass window 'panel ta may be lowered as willtbe readily) IHIdBIStOUdst illhe window panel Jil is adapted to wholly orlpartially cover oruncover theusual window o'peningfl t4, :the windowpanel movingwin andcutlof the well 122 to uncover and ooVer t he-window opening. AsindicatedonFigure 2,, the well ll is fotmedbetween the outer door panel-|5,an d-the. inner door panel 16. In

this instancaia wing type-panel I.3a of the usual n type is mounted inadvance of the window Opening l4.,

" Embracing-theiloweredge of the window glass I3 is a metal channel 11which is lll-shaped in cross section :and has suitable backing t8: interposed. between .itand the glass panel I43. Fixed towtheunder esideof thechannel I1 and disposed centrally between the opposite edges theteof isa reta'iner plate :llilhaving; a depending flange 20. Therflange 12B issuitably connected :as by screws 20a, to a bracket-l2! whichformstalpart of the carriage indicatedigenerally at C, It willberohserved that the retainer plate 19 is-connectupper end'of thecarriage. l l l n l n The carriage :C'comprises a ,painof substam tiallynrectangulan plates 12-2 23, portions of whichware embossedtinwamly asindicatedqat '24.,

L Figure 4118 afifragmentary elevation of the guide tracksQcarriage and.associated. parts;

Figure 5 is a transverse seeti'onalwiewoncthe abut againstand are weldedtoeach other. The upper "and :lowerend portions of the plates 22 and.123' aregeachrembossed outwardly as. indicatedat to form offset portionsfor receiving theree between rollers 26 which are arranged in pairs, tworollers being disposed at each end of the carriage. The rollers of eachpair are spaced laterally from each other and a roller on one side is inalignment with the corresponding roller at the opposite end or thecarriage C. As indicated on Figure 5, each of the rollers is formed withtrunnions 21 which extend into openings formed in the offset portions 25of the plates. The openings for the trunnions are slightly elongatelat-- erally to prevent the trunnions from freezing, but should not beso large a to enable the rollers to engage the adjacent portions of thecarriage, The rollers are in the form ofmetal discs and embracing therims thereof are tires or coverings 28 of relatively resilientcompressible material, such as rubber or the like.

The carriage C is mounted within a frame having a pair of laterallyspaced longitudinally elongate guide tracks 29 and 30, the rollers 26 onone side of the carriage engaging the guide track 29 and on the oppositeside engagingthe guide track 30. It will be observed that th oppositesides 3| of each of the guide tracks'incline or flare outwardly so as toprovide a guide channel substantially V-shaped in 'cross section. The uber Coverings or tires 28 for each of the rollers 26 act as silencers forreducing or eliminating the noise occasioned by the movement of thecarriage along the guide tracks. These compressible, resilient rubbersurfaces also compensate for minor irregularities in the contour of theguide tracks and also afford, to a limited extent; lateral carriagemovement. The guide tracks 29 and 30 are secured as by welding,respectively, to angle strips 32, the apices of the V-shaped guidetracks being welded to the angle strips 32 respectively.

In' assembling the structure, the carriage C is interposed between theguide tracks 29 and 30 with the rollers 26 engaging respectively th V-shaped tracks and then a U-shaped spacer or tie member 33 is mounted onthe upper ends of the tracks overlapping the outwardly projectingflanges of the angle strips 3| to which they are welded. It will beobserved that the outward flanges of the strips 3| project upwardly aslight distance beyond the upperends of the lateral flanges 'of thestrips 32. Not only does the spacer '33 tie the upper ends of the guidetracks together, but it also serves as a stop to limit the upwardmovement of the carriage C and pre-' vents the carriage from rollingouttracks.

The upper end of the guide track assembly is secured to an outwardlyembossed portion 34 (Figure 2) of the inner door panel it. As shown inFigure 4, a screw 35 secures the left-hand of the guide" angle strip 32to the embossed portion 34 and a ing to each of the strips and assistsin reenforcing the structure. The lower ends of the strips 32 arerigidly secured together by a cross'piece 39 which has an outwardlyextending flange 40, thelatter providing a stop to limit the downwardmovement of the carriage C and cooperating with the spacer 33 at theupper end to retain the carriage C in engagement with the guide tracks.

The cross piece 39 is welded to an L-shaped bracket 4|, the lateralflange of which has a pair of cross shaped slots 42 through which bolts43 may pass for securing the bracket 4| to a stationary bracket 44 whichis rigid with the inner door panel Hi. It will be manifest that thecross shaped slots 42 enable the guide track assembly to be adjustedtoward and away from the outer panel l5 or in a plane substantiallyparallel to the panel I5 within the limitations afiorded by the slots.

From the above description, it will be manifest that the carriage andguide track are held touided for vertical reciprocatory movements.

The guide channels are spaced inwardly away from'the side edges of thewindow glass in the region of the central portion of the window glass.As above pointed out, adjustments are provided to enable the guideassembly to be properly aligned with relation to the usual verticalguide channels on opposite sides of the window opening M. It will alsobe apparent that this structure eliminates the necessity of the usualguide channels disposed within the window well. Heretofore these havebeen mounted in the vehicle body and difficulty has been occasioned inhaving the parts properly align in order to aiford free and unrestrainedvertical movement of the window glass to and from open position. The"objectionable features incident to such ordinary method have beenobviated by this guide assembly as 'willbe readily understood by thoseskilled in this art.

'As indicated in Figure 8, instead of employing rollers 26 havingcompressible rubber tires or rims 28, metal rollers 25a may be employedand compressible rubber strips 45 are adhesivelysecured to the V-shapedguide channels. The rubber strips 45 extend throughout the length ofeach of the guide strips and upon engagement by the metal rollers 26a,are sufiiciently compressible and resilient to accomplish the resultsabove set forth.

Instead of having the guide strips rigidly secured together, they may bedetachably connected in such manner as to afford limited adjustment. Forthis purpose, as shown on Figure 8, the outwardly extending flange ofeach of the angle strips 32a is formed with a laterally elongate slot 46to receive a screw 41 engaging the intermediate brace 38a. In thisconnection,

, instead of employing the one-piece spacer 33, a

two-piece spacer 33a is employed at the upper end of the guide trackassembly anda screw 48 secures these parts together, the screw passingthrough longitudinally elongate openings in the two parts to obtain thedesired adjustment. In

this manner the guide track can be moved toward or away from each otherto obtain the desired compression of the rubber rims 28 or rubber guidestrips 45 as the occasion may be.

As indicated in Figure 6, similar adjustment is provided at the lowerend of the guide track assembly, the cross piece 41a having a screw 49passing through a laterally elongate opening 50 in one of the anglestrips. 1 f

An important feature of the invention resides in the manner in which thewindow panel 13 is actuated to and from closed position. As shown, awindow regulator mechanism R of the swinging arm type is suitablysecured to the inner panel l6 and has a manually operatedcrank handle 5|accessible from the inside of the vehicle body. The particular structureof the regulator mechanism forms no part of the present invention sothat detail description thereof is not considered necessary. Suffice itto say that the handle 5! operates through the usual clutch assembly toa:

pinion 52 which meshes with a gear sector 53. The gear sector is pivotedfor turning movements on a mounting plate 54. Rigid with the sector 53 ia swinging arm 55 which in this instance hasan upturned end portion 56.Pivoted to the free end of the. arm portion 56 is a link 51 whichinclines downwardly and is connected to the lower or inner end portionof the carriage C by a pin or rivet 58. It will be manifest that upwardswinging movement of the arm 55 imparts upward movement to the carriageC and thereby moves the window panel [3 upwardly or toward its closedposition. Likewise it will be apparent that upon downwardmovement of theswinging arm 55, the carriage Cand the window; panel I3 aremovedldownwardly to uncover the window opening Hi. When the window panell3 israised or moved toward its closed position, it will be apparentthat the swinging arm 55 imparts a tensioning force to the carriage Cthrough the link 51. This is of particular importance be-, cause itmilitates against breakage or damage to the swinging arm 55 of theregulator which might otherwise be occasioned the event that theregulator arm were directly connected to the carriage C requiring apushing force to raise the window panel l3. i a

It will be understood that numerous changes in details of construction,arrangement and operation may be efiected without departing from thespirit of the invention especially as defined in the appended claim.

What I claim is:

A unitary guide assembly for mounting in the well of a vehicle windowpanel, comprising a pair of laterally. spaced vertically disposed guidetracks substantially V-shaped in cross section,

mounting strips for said tracks substantially L-shaped in cross sectionand to which the outer face of said tracks are respectively secured,brace means securing together said mounting strips,

said brace means including a strip connecting the upper ends of saidmounting strips and providing a stop and also including a cross piececonnecting the lower ends of said mounting strips and provided with anattaching flange, acarriage having translatory movement along saidtracks,

means for attaching the upper end portion of said carriage to a retainerplate on the lower edge portion of the window panel, said carriagecomprising a pair of plates having inwardly em-

